Scan barcode
A review by disguisedposer
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I thought this book was a horror story, and it was, but not because of the ghosts in it. It's a truly horrible story of the treatment of Black boys incarcerated at a reform school in the American south in the 1950s. It is fiction, but sounded all too real. I did a mix of reading and listening. It was beautifully written, and I absolutely adored the narrator of the audiobook even though I usually detest audiobooks. This is one that's going to stick with me for quite some time.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail